Refractory construction for furnaces



July 26, 1938. H. A. MORLOCK 2,125,192

I REFRACTORY CONSTRUCTION FOR FURNACES Filed Sept. 21. 1937 INVE TOR flatrygMor ocK Q MMmBM.

ATTbRNEY Patented July 26, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFRACTORY CONSTRUCTION FOR FURNACES Harry A. Morlock, Buflalo, N. Y.

Application September 21, 1937, Serial No. 164,898

11 Claims.

One object of the invention is'to provide improved furnace wall construction'.' Another object of theinventionis an improved compound refractory e1 Tent" building furnaces. Another object of the invention is to provide either furnace walls'orroofs; In the construction of-'the-.-,refractory-p volume changes may "be induced therein-as re sult of slight changesjflin --temperatu a Thes volume changes impart physicals'h'ock tothe' refractories and at some-pointr-alon'g thetemperay ture gradient of the elementsbfthe "erme ones j I .tile,-astr.es's is set up which results in shearing or other form which can be in the form of brie.

of fracture. As a result, fragments-of brick fall from the structure of the furnace and the renesium oxide), limeicalcium oxide) and brick composed wholly of natural iron chromate, otherwise termed chromite or chrome ore, as well as mixtures of these refractories.

It has been found that the spalls resulting from fractured refractories can be retained by placing thin steel plates in the joints between the brick. As a result of heating, these steel plates are converted into iron oxide and tend to flux and combine with a portion of the adjacent refractory wall or surface in such manner as to weld or knit the wall or surface into a unitary structure or monolith. This kind of construction does not prevent fracturing of the refractories, but it does tend to hold any spalls or fragments in place in such manner that eifective refractory thickness is maintained.

In the forms of construction previously developed considerable diificulty has been experienced because of excessive crystalline growth which occurs in the iron oxide and refractory combination in the joints between the brick or tiles. In all previously advanced methods of utilizing the advantages of the metal plate joint as a metal jacket in combination with tile it has been necessary to introduce two thicknesses of metal in a portion4of the Joint. The excessive amount of metal has caused the formation of an amount of iron oxide in excess of that required to combine iron oxide, either alone or in combination with the refractory material during the life of the furnace, undergoes crystalline growth with a great-; increas e in volume. In certain types of furnaces, it is impracticable or impossible to pro- -vide for additional dimensions of furnace lining an improved combination of f mQ mgnt after'this growth has occurred. Undesirable feaand metal jacket for usea's a unit fo'r building-.f

" f shearing-and other phases of mechanical failure rts, of metallurgical, smelting and otl ierheating fur" naces, it is customaryto'use. refractories-of u'ch; physically unstable naturethat -rel'ati vel great" tures-ofsuch growth are exemplified in buckling,

in the construction. According to this invention, a practical and superior arrangementof refractory elements has been provided to reduce to a minimum the crystalline growth without relinquishing the desirable ;'features of the combination of the refractory ,material and metal plates wherein fluxed and .-welded joints are insured. To this end a tile or brick is provided with a metal jacket or container covering approximately one half of the brick length on the four sides thereof so that in each joint between each adjacent brick or tile only one thickness of metal is obtained and the crystalline growth thus reduced. Thus the cost of metal is reduced approximately to one-half that necessary when two thicknesses of metal were used.

In order to expedite and otherwise facilitate commercial availability of the refractory product the jackets are permanently applied to the bricks at the manufacturing plant. Each brick, with its metal jacket thereon, can then be handled 3 and transported without danger of displacement of the jacket, and this desirable condition continues during the handling of the refractories incidental to the actual installation of the furnace walls. A practical and eflicient method of securing the metal jacket to the brick includes the forming of a notch or groove in one or more sides of the brick and pressing a rib or flange from the side portion or portions of the jacket into the groove. The side or body of the jacket canbe slit for purposes of facilitating the forcing of the flange or rib into the groove.

The advantages of this type of construction can be extended to various types of brick or tile refractories, such as the key, wedge, etc., by forming the jacket to conforinto the shape of the end portion of the brick to which it is applied.

'- between the bricks are provided with a substantially continuous single thickness of metal and during use of the furnace a fluxing and binding of the metal surfaces to the brick surfaces occurs by reason of the oxidizing action of the metal.

In the drawing:

Fig. "l is a fragmentary elevation of a furnace in which portions of the outer furnace wall have been removed to expose the arrangement of the refractory tile or brick:

Fig. 2 is a perspective. on a larger scale, of a refractory element provided with a partial cover or jacket; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective, on a larger scale, of refractory elements of another form.

In practicing the invention a conventional furnace I is provided with an outer wall structure l2 composed of refractory tile or brick II, and a roof l6 composed of refractory tile or brick II. The furnace is also provided with conventional skew back structure l8 and other reinforcing and covering it.

As best'shown in Fig. 2, one form of tile or brick I is oblong and is provided with plain rectangular sides 22 running lengthwise thereof. A metal jacket 23 coversv approximately one-half of the length of each of the longer sides 22 of the brick. In order to insure proper assembly of the brick and jacket one or more sides of'the brick is provided with a transverse groove or recess 25 into which a pressed out portion 26 from the body of the metal jacket is pressed or otherwise forced. Thus the brick and jacket are firm-- 1y. secured together and can be handled as a unit brick and transported without danger of disassembly. If desirable, the body of the jacket can be slit, as indicated at 21, and the pressed out portion 26 can be in the form of a flange, or ii the slit is omitted, the pressed out portion can be in the form of a bead or rib.

In building the furnace wall structure l2, the bricks l5 are alternately placed in such manner that the jacketed portion of each brick rests in I sides as applied to each building block is intended in this description to refer to those sides 22 which are laid in face to face relation to sides of adjacent blocks and extend transversely of the wall in a furnace construction. The ends of the block are those extremities which are substantially parallel to the face of the furnace wall construction, or form the wall facing. Each side 22 (Fig. 2) has a metal covered portion and an uncovered portion as clearly indicated. It should be noted that the uncovered portion of each side has a definite'relation to an opposed metal covered complemental side portion, or counterpart thereof, but not necessarily of the same area. Each metal covered side portion extending toward one end of the block is thus substantially complemental, or is opposed in symmetrical relation, to an opposed uncovered side portion on the opposite block side, but extending toward the-other end of the block. Each metal covered side portion is likewise substantially complemental to an uncovered side portion of an adjacent block in the furnace wall or roof construction and vice versa. Therefore, in fitting composite masonry units together in a wall construction, each uncovered side portion of one block is capable of fitting in face to face or opposed relation to a complements? metal covered side portion of an adjacent composite unit. In such wall construction, it is to be understood that the matter of whether the blocks might be shorter transversely of the wall than the extent of the blocks along the wall face does not materially aifect the application of the principles of the invention.

Approximately the same kind of arrangement is included in the roof I, inwhich the several bricks I! are tapered and constitute the socalled wedge type. Suitable jackets are applied to the bricks in the same manner as that previously described with the exception that the jackets on alternate bricks must be made to conform to wedge like shape, and since each brick tapers, a larger jacket is placed on the larger brick end and a smaller jacket is placed on the smaller brick end. In this arrangement, both the smaller and the larger jackets are placed on the bricks by inserting the smaller end of the latter therein, and thus a single thickness of metal separates the brick in the roof structure. There are also provided suitable notches or grooves 32 and pressed-out portions 31 similar to the grooves and pressed out portions 26 of the form of arrangement shown in Fig. 2.

In Fig. 3, the so-called key type of bricks is shown and in this form, each brick is tapered somewhat differently from the brick i! of the roof, but since each roof brick, with its jacket is generally similar in construction and arrangement to that shown in this figure, similar reference characters are employed to designate corresponding elements.

Although only the preferred forms of the invention have been shown and described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not so limited, but that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or 0 from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a furnace construction, a wall sectionincluding a series of refractory building blocks, each block from its medial portion toward one extremity having a metal jacket completely sur- -block end portions and leaving alternate uncovered larger and smaller block end portions whereby a substantially continuous single thickness of metal is provided in the joints between the several blocks.

3. In a furnace construction, a wall section including a series of refractory building blocks, each block from its medial portion toward one extremity having a metal jacket completely surrounding it and providing an uncovered portion toward the opposite extremity, the metal surrounded portion of each block being laid adjacent the uncovered portion of an adjacent block whereby a substantially continuous single thickness of metal is provided in the joints between the blocks, each block having a groove formed therein, and each metal jacket having a pressed out portion disposed in the groove of its block.

4. In a furnace construction, a roof sectionincluding a series of tapered refractory building blocks, successive blocks having metal jackets surrounding alternately the larger and smaller block end portions and leaving alternate uncovered larger and smaller block end portions whereby a substantially continuous single thickness of metal is provided in the joints between the several blocks, each block having a groove formed in the metal surrounded portion thereof, and each metal jacket having a pressed out rib portion disposed in the groove of its block.

5. In a masonry section of a furnace structure, a plurality of refractory building blocks, each block forming joints with adjacent blocks, covering of metallic sheet material applied to side portions of a plurality of said blocks, a plurality of side portions of a plurality of said blocks being free from metallic covering, the covering of metallic sheet material being 'placed against uncovered side portions of adjacent blocks whereby a substantially single thickness of metallic sheet material is provided in the joints of the masonry section.

6. In a furnace construction, a plurality of contiguous refractory building blocks, covering of metallic sheet material applied to a plurality of sides of each block, edges of the metallic sheet material on one block fitting in opposed relation adjacent edges of metallic sheet material of other blocks, each block having uncovered side portions fitting against sides of the metallic sheet material on other blocks whereby a substantially continuous single thickness of metallic sheet material is disposed in the joints formed by the blocks.

7. In' a furnace construction, a refractory building block, covering of metallic sheet material applied to a plurality of sides of said block, a second refractory building block having metallic sheet materialapplied to a plurality of its sides in symmetric relation to the covering on the first mentioned block, a side portion of the first mentioned block being free from metallic covering and contacting directly against a side of the metallic sheet material applied to the second block, whereby the portions of sheet material disposed between the blocks are in a common plane and constitute a substantially single thickness of metallic material between said blocks.

8. A masonry unit comprising a refractory block, a metallic band perimetrically embracing a portion of said block, the remaining portion of said block extending beyond said band.

9. A masonry unit comprising a refractory block, a metallic band perimetrically embracing a portion of said block and interlocked therewith, the remaining portion of said block extending beyond said band.

10. A masonry unit comprising a refractory block, a metallic band perimetricallyembracing approximately one-half of said block, the remaining portion of said block extending beyond said band.

11. A furnace constructing masonry unit adapted to be installed in a furnace construction with other like units comprising a refractory.

building block, a metallic covering disposed upon a plurality of side portionsof said block, ap-' proximately one-half of the sum of the total side areas of said refractory block being normally metal covered and uncovered, respectively, the

uncovered side portions and metal covered side portionsbeing disposed in substantially opposed symmetrical relation, each uncovered side portion being substantially complemental to a metal covered side portion of said block and capable of receiving in face to face relation as metal covered side portion of a like refractory block.

HARRY A. MORLOCK. 

